Chapter 135 Continental Summit (3)

Chapter 135 Continental Summit (3)

Episode 135 Continental Summit (3)

"First of all, I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to come all the way here despite your busy schedules."

After Liesta, Heinrich, and Cardinal Cordelia sat down in the empty seats at the round table in the center,

"Then, let the Continental Summit begin."

The main meeting began with the Cardinal's brief opening remarks.

"We are currently facing an unprecedented crisis. It could be said that this is an even greater crisis than the two previous Immortal King incidents."

Cardinal Cordelia's voice, imbued with holy power, spread throughout the grand conference hall.

Everyone's attention was focused on her low yet powerful speech, filled with years of experience.

"A thousand years ago, the abyss opened, and the Immortal King, who descended upon this world, covered half of this land in death."

The people of the continent at that time were only able to defeat the Immortal King and the undead army after gathering all their strength and paying a great price.

"Three hundred years ago, the second Immortal King was born because of a dark mage who obtained the Immortal King's Heart. He destroyed the Sarv Empire, which boasted the most powerful force at the time."

But they were able to successfully subjugate him with the cooperation of many and prevent the damage from spreading further.

And unlike before, they even shattered the heart and sealed one of the fragments, so they thought the same thing wouldn't happen again...

"And now, the third Immortal King has reappeared in the world."

Cardinal Cordelia calmly continued to explain about Hans, the newly born Immortal King.

The Talia Kingdom in the western part of the continent was the first to detect him, but Hans had been toying with them from the beginning, showing cunning movements beyond their imagination.

His cunning in luring the Church and making them fight against the vampire clan they were in conflict with.

His ruthlessness in using even his dark mage followers as bait without hesitation when they were no longer useful.

His mobility in leisurely waiting for the subjugation force that had finally tracked him down and then mocking them as he escaped.

His stealth in neutralizing the Church's all-out search efforts and hiding himself.

"Hmm..."

"This is... beyond expectations..."NewW novels updates at novelhall.com

The people's expressions hardened as the Cardinal continued, but her words didn't end.

The unidentified, sinister bio-experiments conducted in the monster forest in the western part of the continent and their cruelty.

His decisiveness in using the exposure of the laboratory's location to lure the Roselia Cathedral's forces outside.

And then... his magic ability, which allowed him to infiltrate the cathedral, despite not fully inheriting the Immortal King's power, and steal the Immortal King's Fragment that was sealed deep inside, bypassing the Church's tight security.

And his meticulous schemes and his growth rate, which defied imagination, that made it all possible.

"······."

"···Ahem."

The surrounding air chilled, and everyone's expressions became serious.

And that included...

Heinrich, the Saint, who had been quietly sitting in his seat.

'Wow... Hans, that guy, he was scary!'

Hearing the facts organized from the Church's perspective, he couldn't help but be appalled by Hans's meticulous movements.

'But no matter how strong the opponent is, I, Heinrich, will never give up!'

He clenched his fist and made a solemn expression.

Filled with the determination to fight for the light of the world, no matter how thick the darkness.

He could feel several gazes directed at him, but he didn't bother looking around.

This wasn't something he was doing for show, it was an action that came from his heart!

The speech continued while he was immersed in his role as a righteous hero, burning with a sense of mission.

"But the most important thing is something else. This generation's Immortal King isn't blindly obsessed like his predecessors, he's meticulously hiding his tracks and operating in the shadows."

And what Hans did after that was to open the abyss once again by performing sacrificial rituals throughout the continent.

Countless undead, sealed in the previous generation, were released from the weakened boundary of the abyss, causing many casualties.

"But the real problem was something else. As you all know, the abyss's 'madness' has spread throughout the world."

Madness mainly targeted monsters with weak rationality, significantly increasing their physical abilities and aggression, and that led to chaos worldwide.

Not only in areas with a high concentration of monsters, such as the Northern Mountains, which were called the paradise of monsters, but even monsters that had been living peacefully in the mountains went mad, and the damage spread rapidly.

And Crown Prince Simon's expression subtly distorted as he met his intense gaze.

"Has never shirked its responsibility."

The Crown Prince's words were right, but there was one thing he overlooked.

The Main God Church wasn't like those he had dealt with, who hid their wrongdoings for their own gain and engaged in dirty fights.

The Church had no intention of denying their mistake from the beginning.

They wouldn't have revealed everything if they had.

But now wasn't the time to discuss that, with more important issues at hand.

"A thousand years ago, three hundred years ago, and in every other crisis, the Main God Church has always shed blood on the front lines and never yielded its position."

In the past, it was the Church who took the lead in uniting everyone's power.

It was the Church who suffered damage and gathered information by tracking the Immortal King's whereabouts.

Even when they had to sacrifice their allies to create an opportunity.

Even when they opened the way for the heroes to fight the Immortal King in the final battle.

Even when they took on the responsibility of defeating him and sealing the shattered fragments.

The Main God Church was always at the forefront.

"And it will be the same this time."

Heinrich's intense gaze pierced through Simon.

The pressure emanating from him overwhelmed the surroundings, and everyone unconsciously held their breath.

"I don't intend to deny our mistake in this incident. I and the Church will take responsibility in some way."

Silence fell over the conference hall.

Only Heinrich's voice echoed through the spacious hall, but it didn't feel empty.

"I will be at the forefront of the fight against the Immortal King. And if I have to retreat, I will be the last one to leave."

And it wasn't just him, the Saint, who would act that way in the war.

Everyone in the Main God Church would sacrifice their lives like straw dogs, and that would continue until the day they completely drove the Immortal King from this land.

"...As the Main God Church has always done."

Even after his words ended, there was still not a single sound in the hall.

But the atmosphere was clearly different from before.

Most of them nodded in agreement, and even those who had frowned softened their expressions and didn't say anything.

Actually, what Heinrich said could be interpreted as, 'We'll admit our mistake, so please understand, as we'll do our best to clean up the mess. We've done well so far.'...

But there was a reason why everyone in this world respected and considered the Main God Church.

Their faith in God's existence also played a part, but the most important thing was the actions they had shown so far.

The trust and faith they had accumulated over a long time had already solidified into a stereotype, becoming an intangible asset and granting them immense authority.

"...Well, we'll see."

And that was also true for Crown Prince Simon.

He just smiled awkwardly and leaned back in his chair.

He had already realized that his original goal had failed the moment the atmosphere changed and quickly changed his course.

'Too much is as bad as too little. It's better to stop here for now. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future.'

Of course, he hadn't completely given up.

His subdued gaze turned to Heinrich, who was drawing everyone's attention.

A strong holy knight, devout, noble, and filled with a sense of justice.

'Saint, Heinrich...'

And he wasn't the only one looking at him with a similar gaze.

His strong impression was deeply engraved in everyone's minds, and gazes filled with various emotions focused on Heinrich.

It could be considered a successful debut as a Saint.

‘Whew— I barely managed to clean up the mess. This is a good save, right?’

Of course, he was just cleaning up his own mess.